Emotional or Deeper Faith?

[Guitarhero]

What do you consider the faith today as exercised by a majority of people, emotional or dry observance? Are people basing their faith on getting something good from God (and jump ship easily when it goes wrong) and/or having "spiritual" orgasms with little substance or are they going through the motions and not careful about learning how to apply the faith on a deeper level? Is there a happy medium you witness?

 

[EbonyHairedPrincess]

What do you consider the faith today as exercised by a majority of people, emotional or dry observance? Are people basing their faith on getting something good from God (and jump ship easily when it goes wrong) and/or having "spiritual" orgasms with little substance or are they going through the motions and not careful about learning how to apply the faith on a deeper level? Is there a happy medium you witness?

This is a scary question for me. When it comes to people and worship I steer clear. I know I strive to stay connected. It's easy to let the distractions of life keep me from communing with God daily. I have seasons where I very focused and end up withdrawing from other relationships because I feel the pull of God and then there are seasons where I am working hard to just say "thank you Lord".

BTW: cual es el significado del impolta? Mi espanol es malo .

 

[SvelteVelvet]

I know where you are coming from....

Be careful of concerning yourself too much about others' level of faith. There is discernment and then there's...where you are coming from...

"Faith today" as you put it, is really not so different from the bible days where you had those who really knew Christ on a personal level, and the pharisees and saducees.

 

[Guitarhero]

I know where you are coming from....

Be careful of concerning yourself too much about others' level of faith. There is discernment and then there's...where you are coming from...

"Faith today" as you put it, is really not so different from the bible days where you had those who really knew Christ on a personal level, and the pharisees and saducees.

Sigh. Please allow me to redirect the question, charismatic or orthodox? But that's too confusing and I didn't want to do that at first because I knew it would be. I'm talking about chrisitianity in general. Where are WE as a people of faith? Are we interested in what we can attain based on society's hedonistic model of "feel-gud" that has translated into the church or are we so dry with observance, we have no joyous expression of that which is in us? This is no judgement or indictment against other people at all. I'm looking at our christian faith and practice of today. What would happen in the face of horrible persecutions worldwide that are definitely rearing head right now? Would we jump ship if our comfort levels drop significantly? Would be feel abandoned by God if we were not saved from the sword? Are we truly looking for some substance that extends above and beyond the temporal?

 

[Sharpened]

Sigh. Please allow me to redirect the question, charismatic or orthodox? But that's too confusing and I didn't want to do that at first because I knew it would be. I'm talking about chrisitianity in general. Where are WE as a people of faith? Are we interested in what we can attain based on society's hedonistic model of "feel-gud" that has translated into the church or are we so dry with observance, we have no joyous expression of that which is in us? This is no judgement or indictment against other people at all. I'm looking at our christian faith and practice of today. What would happen in the face of horrible persecutions worldwide that are definitely rearing head right now? Would we jump ship if our comfort levels drop significantly? Would be feel abandoned by God if we were not saved from the sword? Are we truly looking for some substance that extends above and beyond the temporal?

LOL! Not at you, but the fact that people in the west have no idea how fragile the system (man's system) in which they live is.

One afternoon, I listened to a man describe how The Father asked him if he were willing to lay down his life for Him. The man said yes. Then, he was asked if he could bare losing his wife and children for His sake. The man couldn't answer. I thought nothing of it until the scenario popped up in my head a few days later while my DH was out with the children. Will I stand firm with Our Father at the price of my family's lives? Could I walk away from them if the Lord ordered me to do so? Do I love Him more than them? The realization hit my heart so hard I sobbed for about an hour, dropping to my knees at some point saying, "Thy will be done. Thy will be done."

Man, this dying daily stuff sucks sometimes.

The key to deception is being able to appeal to emotions, whether good or bad. My mother and her mother taught me that people are willing to believe a lie than the truth. Perfect biblical example: look at the crap the prophets went through, especially when they had to reveal a nasty message. Another example: the prophet who was led astray by another one (1 Kings 13:1-32). I have come to realize that it is not about positivity or negativity, but whether the flesh is being satisfied or the spirit is being purified.

 

[Guitarhero]

LOL! Not at you, but the fact that people in the west have no idea how fragile the system (man's system) in which they live is.

One afternoon, I listened to a man describe how The Father asked him if he were willing to lay down his life for Him. The man said yes. Then, he was asked if he could bare losing his wife and children for His sake. The man couldn't answer. I thought nothing of it until the scenario popped up in my head a few days later while my DH was out with the children. Will I stand firm with Our Father at the price of my family's lives? Could I walk away from them if the Lord ordered me to do so? Do I love Him more than them? The realization hit my heart so hard I sobbed for about an hour, dropping to my knees at some point saying, "Thy will be done. Thy will be done."

Man, this dying daily stuff sucks sometimes.

The key to deception is being able to appeal to emotions, whether good or bad. My mother and her mother taught me that people are willing to believe a lie than the truth. Perfect biblical example: look at the crap the prophets went through, especially when they had to reveal a nasty message. Another example: the prophet who was led astray by another one (1 Kings 13:1-32). I have come to realize that it is not about positivity or negativity, but whether the flesh is being satisfied or the spirit is being purified.

WOW! Now that's the stuff I'm talking about. I know several families whose lives were and still are in danger simply for being christian. I also know they now have massive wealth and that they sometimes feel a little guilty because things are so easy now. Also, they feel bad that they slack up spiritually at times. Makes me also think about how fragile life truly is, especially the spiritual life. One of these days, I'm moving to the Middle-east and I often wonder how I would live my faith. I don't wear it on my shoulders but if someone put a gun to my head and asked me, what would I do?

Like Daniel Pearl, the beheaded Jewish journalist who was actually a secular man, at the last moment of his life, he reaffirmed that he was Jew, meaning all that entails 1)God is 2)he honored Him etc. That man lost his life to proclaim that God was his God and martyrs go straight to heaven. Until the very last moment, perseverance. We do have life so easily (for a time).

 

[SvelteVelvet]

CreoleNat, I've responded to your PM.

As for as your clarification of your question, I understand your concern on a personal level, but I personally don't have it in me to indulge on the topic because Christians and one accord is not always synonomous and it is my belief that as a body of Christ WE will always be on different levels spiritually from one another as individuals. I don't believe it's possible to gauge whether or not a group of Christians will ALL do the same thing. The wheat and tare parable comes to mind here. My sentiment remains that at the end of the day (or beginning of everyday) all I can do is make sure my spirit is in the right place so that God can use me as He will.

 

[Guitarhero]

CreoleNat, I've responded to your PM.

As for as your clarification of your question, I understand your concern on a personal level, but I personally don't have it in me to indulge on the topic because Christians and one accord is not always synonomous and it is my belief that as a body of Christ WE will always be on different levels spiritually from one another as individuals. I don't believe it's possible to gauge whether or not a group of Christians will ALL do the same thing. The wheat and tare parable comes to mind here. My sentiment remains that at the end of the day (or beginning of everyday) all I can do is make sure my spirit is in the right place so that God can use me as He will.

I agree with your last sentence and live this daily. I'm all for vocations. However, in my own mind, I was thinking on things like transcendentalism, eastern religious practices etc. entering the mainstream of christianity. Spirituality doesn't necessarily equate with emotionalism in its extreme. I was eliciting responses and trying to keep it as general as possible to see what would develop. Again, my intent is not judging individuals, it's looking at what's creeping into the church. With all the scandals going on worldwide, it's evident to many people who are not even christian and I think we're often being blindsided by our own comfort levels.